Pressure-sensitive adhesive tape dispenser



July 22', 1947. T H MB; 2,424,486

PRESSURE-SENSITIVE ADHESIVE TAPE DISPENSER Filed Sept. 29, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet l In verftoi.

y 1947. w. H. MILLER PRESSURE-SENSITIVE ADHESIVE TAPE DISPENSER Filed Sept. 29, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 [rave-215F122.

vfi'iarne Patented July 22, 1947 PRESSURE-SENSITIVE ADHESIVE TAPE DISPENSER Wilmore H. Miller, Evanston, 111., assignor to The Kendall Company, Boston, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application September 29, 1944, Serial No. 556,463 1 Claim. (01. 242-454) This invention relates to dispensers for pressure-sensitive adhesive tape and has for an object the provisionof a readily loaded and easily operated dispenser which can accommodate one or a series of rolls of a variety of sizes of pressure-sensitive adhesive tape, and from which a tapes of all usua1 commercial constructions, textures, and strengths may be equally well dispensed.

One feature of the dispenser is that it can be readily loaded to provide simultaneous selective dispensing access to rolled supplies of, for instance, a half-inch cloth tape, a three-fourths inch Cellophane tape, and a one-inch paper tape, or of any other combination of widths and/or types of pressure-sensitive adhesive tape, which may be accommodated regardless of individual width up to the capacity for which the particular dispenser is designed.

Versatile width of roll capacity and ease of loading is provided by a novel roll-mounting structure, and ease of loading is further accomplished by the inclusion of means permitting, at the time of loading, positioning for ready individual access of tape ends drawn from the mounted rolls.

For purposes of description, reference will be made to a desk type of dispenser embodying the invention and illustrated in the drawings in which Fig. 1 is an end elevation of the dispenser;

Fig.2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view taken along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a detail fragmentary view showing the details of one portion of the dispenser and indicating bydotted line showin the removability of certain parts of the dispenser;

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a modified form of dispenser; and

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the lines 5-5 of Fig. 4.

The dispenser shown in Figs. 1 to 3 includes a sheet metal casing or support comprising a base formed of a bottom wall 6, side walls 8 and I0, back wall l2 and a curved cover plate l4 hinged at H to back plate l2 and terminating forwardly at a point to provide an open front for the dispenser, as indicated in Fig. 2.

The casing may be supported by four suction rubber cups l5 bolted to the housing floor 6.

Rolls of tape R wound on internal annular cores C ar upported in the casing, for dispensing rotation upon a rod I6 which extends across the dispenser through slots provided in each of the side walls 8 and It. Ends of 'are enlarged as by caps I8 and the rod l6'may not therefore be removed'from either slot except wherr the rod is moved to a position extending through enlarged apertures 2| provided at the bottom ends of the lots ll. Upper ends of the slots have the curvature shown and terminate in dwells 22. With such construction, loading of a number of rolls R is readily accomplished by removing the rod from the slots through the apertures 2| and placing the rolls of tape in side by side relation on the floor 6 of the a poslte side Wall.

casing supported between projections 24, 24 as indicated by the dotted line position of a roll R in Fig. 2. With one or a series of rolls thus supported on the floor of the casing, the rod l6 may be reinserted through aperture 2| of one of the walls 8 and I0 and may be passed loosely through the apertured core or cores C of rolls R and hence through the aperture 2| in the op- The rod may then be passed upwardly along the slots H to the dwells 22 carrying with it the roll R to side by side independently rotatable dispensing position, as shown in Fig. 1. No separators between the rolls 25 are necessary and they hang loosely on ma I6.

The dispenser has incorporated therewith means for severing portions of tape unrolled from the rolls R. For this purpose, a cutting blade 30 i mounted on the forward end of a. rocker plate 3| positioned across the dispenser over a dispenser bed 32 and between which plate and bed tape is drawn from rolls R. adhesive face down.

The dispenser bed 32 is mounted transversely of the dispenser on side walls 8 and I0 and is shaped to provide at its inner end an upstanding projection 33 and at its forward end a downwardly turned projection 34.

The rocker plate 3| is arranged to cooperate with the rear projection 33 of the bed 32 to lock tape extending therebetween during the operation of severing a portion of one of the tapes along the. cutting blade 38. For this purpose, the rocker plate 3| terminates inwardly in a downwardly projecting portion 35 and the whole plate 3| is adapted for pivotal movement relative to the casing from the full line position shown in Fig. 2 to the dotted line position shown in Fig. '2 when a tape end E is lifted from normal position extending across the bed 32 against the cutter 30 for severing of a portion thereof.

Since, in normal tape dispensing position, the tape ends pass beneath the rocker plate 3| and must be threaded thereunder during loading, the rocker plate 3| is mounted for detachment from the rod Hi I the casing. For this purpose, the-rocker plate inserted between the gripping length. of tape the plate 3| "mounting means may take the form shown in detail in Fig. 3. Fixed at each side and on top of plate 3| are U-shaped brackets 38. Bearingpins 39 pass horizontally through apertures in brackets 38 and are adapted to extend into Journals provided by apertured plates 40 amxed as by welding to the casing sides 8 and I0.

In order to permit withdrawal of the bearing pins 39 from the journals, each of the pins 39 carries at its inner end a gripping member 42 in the form of another U-shaped member fixed rela--- tive to pins 39 by stops 43, 44. A spring 45 is members 42, 42 and is seated at either end around the inner ends 01' the bearing Pins 39. The spring thus yieldingly urges the bearing. pins 39, 39 and gripping members away from each other into positions extending beyond brackets 38. Stops 46 may also be provided to insure against loss of the pins. As indicated by the dotted line shown in Fig. 3, the construction just described permits the bearing pins to b moved towards each other through the medium of the gripping members 42, 42 and against the yielding action of the'spring 45 to withdraw the bearing pins 39 from the casing journals thus permitting removal of the rocker arm 3| and attached cutting blade 30 as a unit from the casing.

The casing side walls carry suitable stops 59, 50 in order to limit the downward movement of the rocker-plate to a normal inoperative position as shown in Fig. 2.

After the rolls R havebeen mounted on the rod l5 as hereinbefore explained, their outer ends may thus be passed across the bed 32 adhesive face down while-the rocker plate is removed from the dispenser or at least lifted away from bed 32 to permit more ready threading of the tape ends.

lifted against the cutter blade 30. The resistance offered by the tape to cutting pivots the rocker plate 3| about the bearing pins 39 lowering the inner end of the rocker plate 3| to the dotted line position of Fig. 2, thus locking the tape being dispensed between the portion 33'of the bed 32 and the portion 35 of the rocker plate 3| to hold the tape against slippage while severing action is performed. This feature is especially desirable in the case of strong, difliculty severed tape such as cloth tape.. Immediately upon severance of a drops back to the full line position shown in Fig. 2 due to'the unbalanced weight of the rocker arm 3| relative to the pivot axis. Simultaneously, by reason of the proportioning 0f the dispensing parts, particularly. the relation of the cutter blade 30 to the forward edge of bed 32, the remaining attached end of asindicated in full lines in Fig.2, draped over bed 32 and extending below and beyond the bed. The remaining loose .end isthus readily accessible for a renewed grasping between the thumb and finger for withdrawal of a further length of tape.

is hinged upwardly It will be'understood that for loading, the cover to permit insertion of rolls R and provide access to the gripping members 42.

. 54 and lower edges of cover side with the rocker arm 3| suspended cover 4a is in the closed'position 1.5

Fig. 4 and Fig. 5 illustrate a modified form of dispenser wherein the rocker plate 3| and cutting blade 3|), instead of being mounted, as in Figs. 1 to 3, between side walls 3 and 0 of the base of the casing, are mounted between side walls 5| and 52 of a modified form of hinged cover I 4a. In such construction, the side walls 8a and Illa of the casing terminate at upper edges indicated at walls 5| and 52 are shapedto abut against edges 54 when the shown in Fig. 4.

The mounting of the rocker blade 3| is then simplified and may comprise merely a pivot rod 56 extending transversely of the dispenser and supported in side walls 5| and .52 of cover |4a from this pivot bar 56 by apertured brackets 58. In this modified form of device the stops may also be mounted on the cover side walls 5| and 52 instead of being mounted on the base side walls 8 and In of the construction shown in Figs. 1 to 3.

With this modified form of construction, the

operation of the dispenser when the cover is in 7 closed position is identical with that of the construction shown in Figs. v1 to 3, ii the cover |4a is provided with some suitable means for retaining it in closed position so that it will not hinge upwardly when a tape end E is lifted against the cutting blade 30, While any suitable retaining means may be'utilized, I have illustrated in the drawing latches 60 mounted on side walls 5| and -52 of the cover Ma and supplied with exterior I knurled thumb knobs 52 for convenient operation the tape will fall under the influence of gravity in latching the cover at each side to the bottom portion of the casing by passing the latches under pins '64 extending inwardly from the side walls 9a and Illa of the lower portion of the casing.

It will be understood that when it is necessary to load or reload the dispenser, the latches 60 are pivoted so that the cover I 4a may be hinged upwardly to open position carrying with it the rocker plate 3| and cutter 30 and exposing the interior of the casing 50 that new rolls R of tape may be loaded therein and their free ends brought across transverse bed 32. The rocker arm is then returned to the position shown in Fig. 4 by closing and latching the cover of the dispenser. As will be seen, this construction permits a dispensing operation as eificient as that of the dispenser shown in Figs. 1 to 3; it also provides similarly convenient loading and threading" is weighted or bolted to a support, without having the dispenser near the edge of its support, as

is required when downward Dull severing is utilized for considerable tape lengths, and provides in either form a simple eflicient relatively cheap and successful dispenser especially for strong tapes such as clot backed tapes.

I claim:

A pressure-sensitive adhesive tape dispenser comprising a support having side walls defining slots terminating at their upper ends in dwells,

at least one of said slots'terminating at its lower end in an enlarged aperture, an adhesive tape roll-supporting rod having enlarged ends of greater maximum cross-sectional dimension than the width of said slots but of less maximum crosssectional dimension than the maximum width of said aperture, removably supported in said dwells and adapted to extend through annular cores of adhesive tape rolls to be mounted in said dispenser, whereby said rod may be lowered alon said slots and withdrawn from said aperture to load rolls into said dispenser, for independent rotation about said rod, a transverse bed over which tape may be drawn from said rolls, a cutter blade mounted transversely of said dispenser, and a rocker plate pivotally mounted on said support over said bed between said cutter and said roll supporting rod, said plate spanning portions of the ends of tape led from said rolls and being movable from normal inoperative position to a tape cutting position locking said tape portions against said bed when a tape end is moved against said blade, said plate being mounted for movement as a unit away from said bed to permit threading ofsaid tape ends between said bed and ,said plate during loading of said dispenser.

WILMORE H. MILLER. 20

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 7 Name Date 331,863 Brown et a1. Dec. 8, 1885 2,352,445 Pinckney June 27, 1944 1,095,640 Johnson May 5, 1914 1,094,765 Weeks Apr. 28, 1914 1,159,837 Handy Nov. 9, 1915 1,133,600 Wood Mar. 30, 1915 1,389,003 Huif Aug. 30, 1921 2,228,842 Nyberg Jan. 14, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 130,178 Switzerland Mar. 1, 1929 

